The WNBA’s media rights negotiations are under fire after the NBA Board of Governors approved 11-year, $76 billion deals with Disney, NBC and Amazon Prime Video.
The Associated Press reported Thursday that the WNBA stands to receive about $200 million per year, or $2.2 billion over 11 years. Its current media contract, worth about $60 million per year, expires after the 2025 season.
The NBA, which owns 60 percent of the WNBA, negotiated a new contract.
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Team WNBA head coach Cheryl Miller speaks to the media at the Footprint Center on July 19, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)
Cheryl Miller, coach of the WNBA all-star team that will play the U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team on Saturday night in Phoenix, criticized the deal while speaking to reporters on Friday.
“I’m not good with numbers. It’s low,” the University of Southern California basketball legend said. “It’s low. … It’s not enough. Not enough at all. Now, I’m not trying to inflate the numbers too much, but $2 is good, $8 would be better (in terms of billions of dollars). I’m saying it because they know it.”
“We’ve certainly come a long way. I’m not going to raise the price, but this is long overdue and we’re just going to keep getting better and better. And you’ll see it with college basketball and what happens next.”
She was asked what the league needs to do to get better conditions.
Phoenix Mercury players Natasha Cloud, left, and Sophie Cunningham, right, pose for a photo with the WNBA team’s head coach, Cheryl Miller, at the Footprint Center on July 19, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Tyler Kaufman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Angel Reese jokes that she’ll be friends with All-Star teammate Caitlin Clark “for one day”
“We need tough and fair negotiators and visionaries,” Miller said, “and we need people who are going to sit at the table and say let’s break it down and go from there. But we need more than two people.”
Teri Jackson, executive director of the WNBA players’ union, also expressed concerns about the contract.
“For months, we have considered how the NBA would value the WNBA in its media rights deal,” Jackson said in a statement. “With a reported $75 billion deal under negotiation, the league is in control of its own destiny — or, more accurately, the NBA is in control of the WNBA’s destiny.”
Teri Jackson, executive director of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, speaks during a press conference on July 8, 2022, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Hu, File)
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“If initial reports are accurate or close to it, we’re excited to learn how the NBA arrived at a $200 million valuation. There’s no denying that both the NBA and WNBA have experienced unprecedented growth by every metric over the past few years. Players continue to demonstrate their commitment to building their brands and fans continue to attend. There’s no excuse to once again underestimate the WNBA.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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